The Rays sent right fielder Steven Souza to the 15-day disabled list yesterday due to a strained muscle in his left hip, as MLB.com’s Sam Blum writes. Souza sustained the injury on Tuesday when making a diving attempt at a sinking liner off the bat of Nelson Cruz. He came up just shy of making the catch, and upon getting to his feet had difficulty remaining upright, ultimately falling back to the turf after making the throw into the infield. X-rays taken on his hip were negative, and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that Souza will receive a cortisone injection to help with the pain. Souza’s hope for now, according to Topkin, is that he can return in the minimum two weeks. The 27-year-old Souza is hitting .255/.315/.443 with 10 homers on the season and has played a solid right field this season. In his absence, the Rays have called up Jaff Decker (as seen on their updated depth chart), and he’ll share some of the duties with Mikie Mahtook.
More from the AL East…
- In other Rays injury news, injured right-hander Alex Cobb is targeting late July or early August as a return date from 2015 Tommy John surgery, tweets Topkin. That target date would put the 28-year-old on track for a 14- to 15-month recovery from replacement of his ulnar collateral ligament, which took place in early May of 2015. The Rays currently have a full rotation with Chris Archer, Matt Moore, Jake Odorizzi, Drew Smyly and Blake Snell (plus a pair of rotation candidates in the bullpen in Matt Andriese and Erasmo Ramirez), but further injuries or trades could potentially open a spot for Cobb’s return.
- The Blue Jays could find themselves competing against the majority of their own division for pitching help on the summer trade market, writes Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith. The Red Sox and Orioles, in particular, need rotation help and could challenge the Jays as they look to fortify their own collection of starters. The fact that right-hander Aaron Sanchez will inevitably move to the bullpen to limit his innings looms large over the Blue Jays, Nicholson-Smith notes, and while that move (plus the return of Brett Cecil) could eliminate a separate need for relief help, the Blue Jays are light on depth in the rotation. Right-hander Drew Hutchison is throwing well at Triple-A and is expected to return to the rotation later this summer, but as Nicholson-Smith points out, any injury to a starter after Hutchison’s return would severely compromise the team’s depth. Veteran lefty Wade LeBlanc is probably the next line of defense, and while he’s throwing brilliantly in Triple-A (1.51 ERA in 83 2/3 innings), his track record in the Majors is fairly limited.
- Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski should be fully invested in the 2016 season, even if it means parting with a prized prospect such as outfielder Andrew Benintendi or Rafael Devers in order to bolster the rotation, opines the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham. With David Ortiz’s impending retirement and the brilliant performances from other members of the offense (Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley, Dustin Pedroia), it’s unlikely that the Sox will receive this level of across-the-board domination from their offense again, and the core of their team is controlled long enough that parting with someone such as Benintendi or Devers is manageable, Abraham writes. In addition to seeking an impact rotation arm and a quality setup piece, Abraham feels that a platoon-mate for Chris Young in left field would be a prudent investment. He suggests Jon Jay as a logical target (though clearly not in connection with Benintendi or Devers), and the fit does indeed make sense for Boston.
- Catcher/outfielder Blake Swihart could return to the Red Sox in August, writes the Boston Herald’s Evan Drellich. Dombrowski said that the team’s initial timeline on Swihart was six to eight weeks, and early August would be on the further end of that spectrum. Swihart will be reevaluated in the near future, per Dombrowski, but he didn’t seem to think there was any reason to expect a lengthier absence. Dombrowski played it cool when asked about his left field situation, praising Young’s work at the position and adding that he’s confident the team will have Swihart and Brock Holt back in the mix eventually.
- Orioles righty Darren O’Day, who is currently on the disabled list due to a hamstring injury, offered a fairly vague update on his status on Thursday (links to Twitter via MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko). The Baltimore setup ace is still unsure of when he’ll be able to get back on a mound but conceded that his recovery has been coming along more slowly than he’d expected. O’Day did add that he doesn’t think he’d require more than two rehab appearances to get back up to speed, so when he is able to get back on a mound, his return from that point could be expedited.
- The Yankees aren’t interested in signing Jose Reyes, writes Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. The Yanks had interest in Reyes following his trade from Toronto to Colorado, but they’re no longer intrigued by the possibility. Reyes was designated for assignment earlier this week and is all but certain to be released by the Rockies.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports profiles one of the more interesting draft stories of the year: Yankees ninth-round pick Tim Lynch. A first baseman out of Southern Mississippi, Lynch was long an avid autograph collector before developing into a legitimate draft prospect. At 14 years of age, needing only Lorenzo Cain’s signature to complete an entire set of Bowman autographs, Lynch picked up a half-dozen donuts and waited for Cain behind the back gate of a minor league stadium, offering him and his teammates a snack in exchange for the completion of the set. Reminded of the exchange by Rosenthal, Cain called it “unreal … crazy, unbelievable” that the donut-wielding autograph collector from nine years ago was drafted by the Yankees. Rosenthal spoke with Lynch about his entire collection, with the 23-year-old senior sign revealing that he’s picked up more than 20,000 signatures in total over the years (100+ from Miguel Cabrera alone) and still hopes to obtain an autograph from Alex Rodriguez now that he’s been drafted by New York.
adyo4552
After the Shwarber incident I was very skeptical of the Swihart move, and the injury seems entirely predictable in hindsight. I still cant quite fathom moving a light hitter from C to LF. He should have been traded for a SP at the peak of his value but now idk what he is.
stl_cards16 2
Swihart is a lot more athletic than Schwarber. But yeah, Swihart’s bat really doesn’t play in the OF, so seems like a strange move. Especially with Benintendi raking and nearly ready for a spot in Boston’s OF.
bravesfan88
Okay, so let me get this straightened out in my mind.
At one point Swihart was a top prospect for Boston, correct??
Well, apparently now all Red Sox fans seem to think Swihart is at best just a bench piece not worthy of starting on a contending club…
From my understanding, he always had question marks surrounding his catching abilities, but I thought he was fairly well known for being a pretty dang good hitter!!
Now, obviously he has been moved off from catching, and now people are saying that Swihart can’t even hit all that well!!
Well, if he doesn’t have a position, and he doesn’t hit very well at all…Then, how is he even being mentioned as a possible, future center-piece of a trade for the Red Sox to upgrade their starting pitching???
Please someone explain this to me, because all things stand now, apparently I’m pretty lost!! lol
stl_cards16 2
For a catcher, he would be a well above average bat. If he’s going to be a corner OF only, I’m not sure the bat can carry him.
I don’t think he’s the centerpiece for an Ace or anything, but he’s still an interesting piece. Especially if a rebuilding team thinks he could stay behind the plate.
rocky7
Obviously from your log in name you are a NL Central guy and probably should stick with that because you don’t know the AL and especially the AL EAST.
The position tends to wear down bats and if anyone considered what your pitching here I doubt that is bat would translate if he was behind the plate for someone for the bulk of a season.
The Red Sox know, which is why they don’t have him behind the plate.
The only way a rebuilding team trades for him as a catcher, is if they get him on the cheap.
MB923
“Obviously from your log in name you are a NL Central guy and probably should stick with that because you don’t know the AL and especially the AL EAST.”
Wow, talk about arrogance. How does what team/division/league someone root for matter in this argument??? I’m an AL East fan and what stl_cards16 is correct. He’s got a good bat for a catcher, but he is poor behind the plate.
Gogerty
I think if Boston seriously wants to send Big Papi out on top they can do so with a blockbuster trade with Atlanta. I know trade scenarios get people up in arms, but giving up prospects and even a bad contract can net a nice return.
ThatGuy 2
Teheran and Viz for Benetendi and Devers.
Maybe not that exactly, but something along those lines would be a legit trade
Gogerty
Yeah, or go bigger with Freddie and Julio. Imagine Freddie playing first over Hanley.
jrudd12
They want a starter, set up man and someone to platoon with Young, perfect match. They can have Teheran, Vizcaino and Markakis
BadCo
We’re still talking about a very young still improving mr Sweihart who I think still has upside as s catcher. Sure he had trouble catching Mr Wright, who hasn’t ….
Sasha C. Handelman
Sox catchers who struggled with knuckleball pitchers include:
John Flaherty
Varitek
Josh Bard
Swihart
Hanigan
ThatGuy 2
Good guy Doug Maribelli doe!
Sasha C. Handelman
Agree that Swihart has lost some value after transitioning to the outfield as well as being injured.
However DD should t hesitate to make a trade to bolster the team even if it means with trading one of the 4 (Moncada, Benintendi, Devers, Espinosa) as well as Owens, Erod!
After finishing last 3/4 years I’d expect DD/Henry to make moves starting soon
JT19
They’re not going to trade Erod unless he looks absolutely terrible or it nets them a top pitcher. Considering Erod is a major league pitcher at this point, and is coming off injury so a slow start isn’t really that concerning, the Sox shouldn’t trade Erod unless its to help get an ace caliber pitcher.
rocky7
JT19
Check his last start….I certainly think “terrible start” is applicable here.
The AL EAST is a WIN NOW proposition and the Sox can’t wait for him to “develop” as a pitcher.
EROD…..really, only aces get nicknames!
And trading him for an ace caliber pitcher…..I don’t think so…
JT19
The point is that last year ERod looked good enough to be a mid-rotation guy this year and a potential top of the rotation guy down the line (not saying he was going to be, but he looked pretty darn good last year). And while the AL East is always in a win now mode, that doesn’t mean you should be trading all of your young guys for rentals…that’s just poor GM’ing.
And what’s wrong with using a guy’s nickname, saves me from having to type out Rodriguez or his full name.
And I don’t expect him to be able to headline a deal for an ace caliber pitcher, but the guy looked promising enough last year to be a guy you build around in the next few years…you don’t trade someone like that unless you’re convinced he’s a shell of his former self or that you can get someone who you can also build around. Again, that would be bad GM’ing to get rid of him if you think he can pitch similar to last year.
Sasha C. Handelman
I like the idea of Atlanta! Get Vizcaino and Teheran ??? Buchholz, Devers, Light? Might make some sense !
Oakland will want too much ( Benintendi Devers etc) for Gray
WAH1447
Vizcaino and Teheran you might as well start the initial offering at benentendi and either devers or moncada then throw in Owens or Johnson and maybe swihart that should get the job if I was coppy I wouldn’t want anything less than that
kylewait89
Asking for Benintendi plus Moncada and Owens is basically saying you aren’t willing to trade. For that asking price, they could go out and get Sonny Gray or another top tier arm. Teheran would be a nice get, at the right price. Considering his fly ball tendencies, trading away three top prospects isn’t worth going for him.
JT19
Agreed, it doesn’t make sense for the Sox to trade three of their top prospects for a fly ball pitcher. Teheran would be pitching in a division with some of the most hitter-friendly parks, and while fly ball tendencies don’t necessarily mean worse pitching in those parks, it wouldn’t be that surprising to see him struggle. At that price, the Sox would be better off seeing how much more Gray, Sale or Jose Fernandez would cost before jumping the bullet on Teheran. I understand Teheran’s very team friendly contract and that the Braves don’t need to trade him which means he should have high value…but to keep expecting a trade offer that nets multiple of a team’s top prospects (similar to the Shelby Miller trade) is crazy. The consensus on that deal was that Dave Stewart vastly overpaid and thankfully, Dave Stewart doesn’t run every other team in the league.
adyo4552
Teheran 2016:
17.3 % line drive 42.2 % ground ball 40.5 % fly ball
I think you might be overemphasizing his fly ball tendencies.
Price, last season (right before the contract) threw:
23.1 % line drive 40.4 % ground ball 36.4 % fly ball
If you want to argue the 4% fly ball difference is meaningful, then youre also compelled to call Price a “line drive pitcher”, lol.
kylewait89
So you aren’t doing yourself any favors by bringing up someone I never advocated for. I pointed to Teheran’s flyball rate because like Price has done in Boston, he gives up too many HRs. If Teheran is allowing 13.5% of his fly balls leave the yard now, what,do,you think they do in Boston?
And is it really smart to bring up line drive % when you take into account that this is Teheran’s lowest of his career by 7%. Teheran isn’t a good fit for Boston and advanced stats, standard stats, and any other stats show that. His FIP is a full run higher than his ERA. There isn’t an argument in the world you can make that has Boston giving up three top prospects for him.
stl_cards16 2
Buchholz huh? Ha
ThatGuy 2
I’ll take Bucholz and Allen Craig as negative trade value, but Braves don’t want/need them…
cjh815
Your not Tehran for that light of package it been report yesterday that hart
cjh815
That hart and copp. Are leaning on keeping Tehran . So Boston or any team trying to trade for him will have to blow them away to get him , and when it come to Gray in Oakland , Fernandez in Miami or Ross in San Diego they are there franchise players they will not trade them . They are the one attraction that gets fans to come through the gates and at end of the day these teams need them to attract fans to there ball park . Exsp Oakland . Where they have some good player but most of there fans would tell you they get excited every 5 day to watch him pitch and fact he is the one guy that give them chance to win every 5th day . In Fernandez he is latin and Miami Marlins will never trade him they have to draw the latin commute to there ball park and he is the one big draw tool they have to get them they more likely to trade Stanton and that won’t happen either . And when it come to Ross well he been hurt and if you want to try to blow San Diego away to get him you see what it took to get shields away and what it took to get Kimber away from them then . But think Tehran is younger , cost less , and knock on wood has no serious injures in his history . Now I ‘m all for Braves keeping Tehran the rest of the season brave don’t have to trade him , in fact more I think about it probably better because in the off season when all the teams will be open to trades and when you look at this off season of starting pitchers ( nothing against them) but let’s be honest they all are a lot order , and will cost at lease double what he make next season and the the next . And in fact 3 to 4 years from now the Elite pitcher that Tehran is makes around 20 to 30 million dollar a season in today’s market , and way $ keeps going up 2 to 3 years from now who know what pitcher like Tehran will be making . And fact that he’ll be 28 when he hits free agents well you most likely look at 32 to 38 million dollar a year over 5 to 6 years if not more . So all you fans like Boston who keep trying throw out there theses ridicules and insulting trade need to stop . Prospect are just that . Major leaguer is a know produce and they will all way be worth more value then unknown product , ask any business man worth his value and he’ll tell you the same that why the billionaire became them. They now how to make deal and they will alway want the known not the unknown . That good business . At end of the day that what any professional sport is any more a business .
Gogerty
Dude, seriously. I am a Braves fan, but you are way off. For one, please try using better grammar for one, make better projections( $33-38M). But Julio at this point is not near the point of Kershaw or even the overpays of Grienke and Price. Believe me, I hope he gets to that point, but far too early to project that.
Also, I love Julio, Freddie, and see great potential in Viz. But like you said, business man, I see their value right now to our team both staying and going.
But for the love of all that can read, take some time to make your comments easier to read, because right now they are garbage. Oh and every teams fans puts out trade proposals, and rarely does each side agree.
ThatGuy 2
Miami ownership has proven they’ll trade anything with a pulse!
Oakland (Billy Beane) also trades anything with a pulse.
The difference is Billy usually wins his trades, except the Donaldson trade :,(
JT19
Oakland trades their guys because they don’t have money. Miami trades their guys because they are usually bad.
Pedro Cerrano's Voodoo
‘Elite’ should not be used in reference to Teheran. To start talking about what he’ll be doing and earning (32 mill lmao) in 2-3 years is absurd.
bbritton209
I’m a Braves fan and make no bones about it I want whatever is best for our team. When it comes to trades I will usually try for a Miller/Swanson type trade. That’s just the nature of the game. That’s what GMs do in real life. Every team will try for that then meet in the middle somewhere… Unless you are with the Arizona Diamondbacks, in which case you wake up the next morning surrounded by 3 bottle of Patron with Carrie Underwood singing “oh no what have I done cause I don’t even know my last name” in the background.
That said Braves are in an extremely powerful position right now. We don’t HAVE to trade Teheran. He has an incredibly team friendly deal that goes through 2020 and has no real injuries. He has given you multiple years of 200 innings. Yes he struggled last year but this year he has shown he is an above average pitcher who lost clubs would love to have. And the same can be said about Vizcaino. Both of them are great pieces that Atlanta wants on the pitching staff for years to come. With so many new comers looking to make their name in ATL this year and next having a reliable veteran who can hold his own is a really good thing to have. And Vizcaino ready to come in and close things down is something we need.
So if a team wants them they have to come at us with a package to blow us away. Not just any ordinary package will do. You have to keep in mind the overinflated price of pitching, the weak free agent market this coming off season and the fact that Braves don’t have to trade Teheran. Those things together mean we have the power when it comes to a trade.
So in the case of the Red Sox, if you want him you better start off with Moncada or Benintendi. That’s just going to have to happen because Braves won’t settle for anything less. Devers would also likely need to be in the mix as well. Realistically speaking you will end up having to overpay in terms of value. And you are looking at a trade that will likely see Boston part with 4-5 pieces just to get 2 in return.
Argue all you want about trade value, contract value, or where Teheran belongs in the rotation, the bottom line is that you will sacrifice a lot to get him.
Gogerty
Granted I am a Braves fan, but I don’t always agree with what every Braves fan says. That being said though, I do agree with the trade values and such. We fans can banter all we want, but like your example of Stewart, it all depends on what the acquiring team feels they need.
For Boston, I can see for Teheran that one, possibly two top 5 prospects could be warranted. Teheran is not an ace, but for a team leading their division and wants to send out their current most iconic player out with a Championship, he is a great get.
I know all might think it is crazy, but could you imagine the return for Julio and Freddie. That trade could be franchise altering. Could be great, could be bad, never know. But again, for Boston if they truly want to get that championship for Big Papi’s last year and also have two good to great controllable assets, it could be amazing for both. Again, I know it is crazy and would probably never happen, but entertaining to think about.
JT19
The only problem with the Freddie proposal is the money. While money isn’t necessarily an issue for Boston, I doubt they want to be on the hook for all/most of Freddie’s contract, while also being on the hook for Hanley/Craig/Sandoval. If Atlanta were to eat most of Freddie’s contract, it would drive up the prospect price which might make Boston more hesistant. I don’t see Freddie being a part of Teheran deal unless one of Hanley/Craig/Sandoval is involved as well…Boston could eat part of one of those three’s contract, while taking on Freddie’s contract which would sort of stabilize the prospects going to Atlanta (as in Boston doesn’t have to send all of their top prospects but Atlanta also doesn’t get robbed of some prospects).
Gogerty
I completely agree sir, the proposal I thought included Ramirez coming back to Atlanta. Looked at either him or Pablo, but while Pablo is slightly cheaper annually, Braves could be out of Hanley’s contract sooner.
kylewait89
Why would Boston trade Hanley? He is the guy in line to take over the DH duties. They have no reason to trade the guy. Even in a deal that brings back Freeman it makes no sense.
Gogerty
And that is fine, I would just think BOS would want a DH with more pop. Maybe it is just a down year for Hanley but for $22M, thought they could use more. Hell my thought process was him thrown in to offload a contract and offset financials.
JT19
To free up some cap. Trading Hanley could then allow them to get a cheaper DH who can put up similar numbers. Part of the reason why Hanley has been designated their DH after Papi is because no one really wants him, so I’m sure Boston would be glad to get rid of one of their bad contracts. But it doesn’t have to be Hanley though, I only threw out his name for salary swapping purposes. I’m sure the Sox would probably rather send Craig or Sandoval in that hypothetical deal, but Atlanta might want someone who can be a somewhat capable replacement for Freeman. I don’t know Craig’s numbers but since he’s still stuck in the minors I’ll assume that he’s not exactly lighting it up and Sandoval is out for the year and it might cost Boston an extra medium-to-low level prospect for Atlanta to take Sandoval as opposed to Hanley. Again, this is all hypothetical and just a bunch of fans coming up with their own rumors/opinions…but it makes sense if you think about it.
sully15
There is only one player I trade the Farm for.
Miami gets:
Yoan Moncada
Rafael Devers
Trey Ball
Blake Swihart
Rusney Castillo
Ranial Raudes
Boston Gets:
Jose Fernandez
Mike Dunn
Ichiro Suzuki
Martin Prado
Helps all our needs for this yr. With all but Fernandez FA at years end. And gives us the 2nd ace needed for 2-3 yrs after this one.
Niekro
No chance Atlanta wants Buchholz, but kind of surprised Boston fans are so quick to give up on him, he still holds value as a highly capable swing man, who might figure it out and get back in the rotation, he just saved your bullpen last night.
Gogerty
So Niekro,
What are your thoughts on Freeman and Julio to Boston. Of course will not happen, but could be a two franchise altering deal.
Niekro
I don’t see why both sides couldn’t come to a deal on Julio, I believe the front office when they say they wont trade Freeman though, Freeman is the type of player the Braves need to build around, trading Julio is tough too but the team is heavily invested in young pitching already.
I’m not so sure it would work out for Boston though HR prone pitcher going to AL and HR prone division, just seems like AL east could be a disaster for Julio. Yeah he may not have an alarming flyball rate but Julio gives up very hard contact. So no I don’t think Julio is going to make Boston a world series favorite.
Gogerty
Agreed sir, just throwing out the what if. I think Freddie at 1B in Boston the next few years could be amazing. No I would not want to see him go, but unless he keeps up his production of the last week, that is a hard $20M to start paying next year. Blockbuster package for near ready MLB prospects, one MLB stud, and mix ins would be nice.
And I agree, Julio does not make Boston the favorite, but a nice 3rd man in rotation for most teams.
stormie
The Jays could also stretch out Chavez, especially as the bullpen will be getting full. That versatility was the whole point of getting him, likely with the Sanchez scenario in mind.